Perfect
by Aigerim Lehane
Summary: Katherine and Damon are perfect for each other. Enough said.
1. Chapter 1

**Katherine.**

Rage was boiling inside, and she wasn't successful at taming it. Nobody denied her. Ever. So what was wrong with this Salvatore family? Stefan, she could understand. He has a nice human substitute who just happen to look like her. Petrova's blood runs in that girl's veins, for fuck's sake. Younger Salvatore even has a taste of it here and there. If she was in his shoes, she too wouldn't give up a free meal from someone who wears a face of a person she was in love with.

But what in the hell was Damon doing? It's so obvious he's in love with her. He's still broken and hurt and_ hers_, and no little stupid human (!) girl can change that. Even if he does see her in Elena. She can't allow him to slip away from her.

Only he already did. He never denied her. Not even when he claimed to hate her and was ready to kill, all it took was one lust filled gaze and he was questioning the possibilities. If it wasn't for Stefan, they would have ended up fucking right on that couch in the room they got her trapped. And now, when she was all ready for him… It was unbelievable. Simply impossible.

Maybe Elijah compelled him. Yeah, right. If it was so, she wouldn't be here in the first place. The Original is dead, lying in the basement of one certain brunette hottie with clear blue eyes. It has to be something else.

That Elena girl is to blame. It's all her fault. She lost her boys to that dramatic teenager. One thought about this made her mad with anger. How dare that little girl steal away her favourite playthings?

Not that she needed Stefan that much. Truth be told, he never was the reason she came back to Mystic Falls. Sure, she felt something for him, and yes, it was more than what she felt for his elder brother, but it wasn't really love. She honestly can't even give a clear answer about why she chose Damon's death over his. Most likely she just knew that Damon was strong enough to pull it through. He was always a smart one, that arrogant asshole. He changed so much since the last time she had seen him.145 years would do that to a man. Vampire. Whatever.

He's wiser now. Not so naïve and innocent as he was back then. And so beautifully damaged, broken and flawlessly flawed in so many ways. She's proud that he is her masterpiece. At least he's not as boring. He's different, and she's delighted every time they start bickering, because Damon is officially the first to keep up with her and sometimes even to come out on top. Not that she'd ever let him know that. Now she actually enjoys his company more than Stefan's. Stefan can be quite clueless sometimes. She found it endearing. Now she finds it annoying.

But Damon. Oh, her poor Damon. He's been hurt by love so many times, and still he manages to love with all his broken heart. Now that a moment of pure anger is gone and rage is tamed, she sees the truth. That fool loves Elena. She felt her anger rise up, but she pressed it down. Not the time for that. She has to keep calm and have a clear head, because she plans on getting Damon back. That bastard is not allowed to be anyone's but hers. She'll make sure of that. She'll teach him a lesson and then she'll break his heart all over again, only this time beyond repair.

However, Katherine Pierce was a clever woman, else she wouldn't have made it so far with a psychotic Original looking for her all over the world and even further. And as she went to sleep with the thought of teaching Damon a lesson, she hoped as hell that it wouldn't be her heart that would be in pieces.

**Damon.**

They had a place of witch massacre and a powerful Bennett on their side. He would say that their chances were not that bad. It was actually better that he expected. They had a great shot at saving Elena and defeating Klaus.

…

He was doing a piss poor job at pretending that an almost kiss with Kat didn't happen.

Of course, he is proud with himself at handling this the perfect way. It's not everyday you fool Katherine Pierce into thinking you don't want her. But man, did he want her. He missed her scent, and the way his hands slid smoothly over her flawless skin. He missed her taunting and sexy, low voice that was enough for him to get painfully hard and ready at one point in his life. He could control his body now.

But not his mind, apparently.

He felt rage inside him rising up. Katherine just strode in his life and turned his world upside down all over again. She had no right, dammit!

Okay, he seriously needed to stop sounding like a drama queen.

But it was really distracting with her back. And what was making it worse? He changed. And now that he was a completely different person, they were a perfect pair. He's broken and unstable and slightly insane, and she's messed up and crazy and scared, always scared, and she's masking it, hiding behind her craziness and games, just like he hides his hurt soul behind sarcasm and not caring. And, well, he actually doesn't care about many things, he's not as sensitive inside as Elena made him out to be. And Kat actually does enjoy her games and craziness, and she will never completely change and stop doing things she does. Just like he won't be whole, won't completely give up on being dangerous and twisted. They can't change, because they pretended so much they actually became what they are now. That's how they operate. He's taken aback with that realization, and then he's simply scared, because he doesn't want to be anything like Katherine but he is. She created him. Every action in the past was done because of her. Every decision he's made was made thinking about her. She's in his system, and he's not sure he'll ever be able to get her out. First love, just like first hate, is hard to forget. He's not sure what Katherine is to him out of two. Maybe she's something third, something that goes beyond everything and anything known to a man.

He couldn't go down that path again. He matured, changed, became a person he doesn't hate anymore, and he doesn't want to smash a mirror when he takes a shower every morning. He can't throw it all away only because Katherine decided to play once more. He won't let her rule his life and play with him as she pleased. With that decision firmly made, he closed a journal and went to get ready to sleep.

But Damon Salvatore wasn't stupid, at least not anymore. And now that he finally knew himself, he couldn't help but wonder: what if he still wasn't strong enough?


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning, Damon."

He looked up from his reading, a mocking smirk present as always on his face.

"I like your hair this way. Shows off your bitchy nature."

Katherine only smirked as she used her super speed to get to a table with bourbon. She helped herself and sat on the couch gracefully, not taking her dark eyes off of Damon.

"Oh, burn. Is that the best you came up with? Off your game today, dear. Did you sleep well?"

Taunting lips formed a mocking grin, and Damon didn't know which way of getting rid of that smirk he liked more- tearing it off or wiping it with a brutal kiss. He settled for the third option.

"Why yes I did, Miss Katherine. What about you? Sleep tight? Was your bed soft enough, or maybe it wasn't hard enough for your liking?" He did his eyes thing, emphasizing words "tight" and "hard" to make his point.

He did good, because for a second Kat's eyes flashed with rage and lust. But she was Katherine Pierce, so she regained her composure fairly quickly. In fact, hadn't he known her enough, he would have never noticed a slight shift.

The thought of him knowing her so much scared and excited him at the same time.

"It was hard alright, my dear Damon. Of course, I would have preferred your bed, but Stefan's wasn't that bad either."

He knows it's a bait, and he knows it's a big fat lie, but he's still mad for a moment. Memories of her choosing Stefan over him appeared in images in his brain, waiting to be clicked so he could watch it all over again.

He doesn't give in. Instead, he smirks and leans forward so they are almost face to face. The word "almost" is taken out because Katherine leans in too, purring softly as she goes. He licks his lips and her pupils dilate as she watches that darn talented tongue of his making an appearance.

"Stefan's bed is too hard even for him. Maybe that's the reason he's been spending the night at Elena's for almost a week now." Come on, Kat. That had to strike the nerve. "Because her _bed_ is probably sooooo soft he feels like he's gone to Heaven every time he lies _in_ it." Now Kat is looking in his eyes, her own growing darker with veins becoming clear around them. "If you catch my drift."

Katherine growled and pounced at him, knocking them over couch as she went. They rolled on the floor at a blistering speed, and Damon is hit with a memory of them with her looking at him with hollow eyes.

"_I __already __know the question. And the answer for it."_

He tossed her away from him and stood up, brushing himself off. It was getting too much to handle. He couldn't show her what he was thinking and feeling now. It would give her an upper hand. It just couldn't be afforded.

"_Truth is, I never loved you. It was always Stefan."_

With emotions in check, he turned to greet her with self satisfied smirk only to find an empty room. He merely sighed and held out his hand, which of course was taken by a much smaller one. The owner of said hand emerged from behind him, smiling slightly.

"You lost," he told her right away.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I wasn't the one having a mini meltdown in the middle of a fight. "

He noticed that they still were holding hands. Funny thing though, he doesn't do anything about it.

"I was merely giving you an out. You are getting rusty in your old age, Kat."

She simply vamped out at him, but still kept her smile.

"Too bad it doesn't apply to us vampires, Damon."

He loved how his name rolled off her tongue, smooth and velvet-like.

Damon vamped out, too, as they started to slightly circle each other.

"I heard you finally had your dance, with the wrong girl, but still."

She loves when he half smirks tightly, sarcastic and cynic and perfectly damaged.

He raises his right hand, and she puts hers up too, not touching his.

"That I did. Said girl had it with the wrong guy, too. I'd say we're even."

She began to slowly circle him, and he followed without missing a bit.

"Maybe I had it with the wrong one, too."

Merely testing waters. Damon kept silent, watching her with amusement as he raised other hand.

"It's probably vice versa. You were more wrong for him than he was for you."

A smile his way, never fully reaching her eyes. He can't remember when she really honestly smiled, and then he realizes there simply was nothing to remember.

"The time and person were wrong. Now," she looked him square in the eyes, vampiric form still intact, "now, not so much."

He was about to say something, probably another sarcastic remark. But she'll never know, because at that exact moment Stefan and Elena chose to appear in the hallway, pausing in the mid-conversation as they looked at the scene before them.

And what a scene they walked in on.

"What's going on?"

And here is another thing that made it ok for her to kill that annoying girl. It was her 'always confused' look, which she constantly had on. Girl should never try to make an acting career, since every situation from dramatic to terrifying had her wearing the same confused expression.

Even when she cried, that face just appeared through her tears.

It was enough reason for her to strangle Elena.

As she looked back at Damon, she saw her failure at this first attempt. He lowered his hand as soon as he heard Gilbert's voice, and had a guilty face on. Katherine rolled her eyes. So pathetic. He's nothing to Elena, and still he manages to look like he cheated on her somehow.

"Reviving some pleasant memories. Not that it's any of your business, of course."

"I believe you two don't share that one memory." Stefan said calmly behind Elena.

"Well, brother…"

"Well, Stefan…"

Said so alike Stefan winced slightly and Elena frowned. They were not supposed to speak at the same time. They weren't supposed to dance and share secret looks. They weren't supposed to be so alike.

They simply weren't supposed to be. Damon and Katherine, two different individuals – yes. But 'they' – no.

Katherine finally was fed up with all this staring and silent judgment they got from the saint pair. She fled up the stairs to get away from drama that was coming. At that exact moment she realized two things. First: Stefan is just as boring as Elena, and second: she didn't feel anything even close to love for the younger Salvatore. About damn time, as Damon would say if he heard her thoughts.

And also third: Damon was so much hotter.

"Damon, what was that?"

He sighed. He may love the girl, but her constant praying into his personal business was getting kinda annoying.

"We danced. It's our thing, Elena, don't worry your little mind. Stefan will explain."

Damon really hated drama, and now there was too much of it in his life. Too bad the switch doesn't really exist. It would have been much easier that way.

"What do you mean Stefan will… Damn it, Damon!"

He heard her curse at him as he fled from boarding house. Oh come on, those two really need to loosen up a little. He sure planned to. Yeah, epic battle is coming, big bad Klaus-that-can-be-defeated is out for their blood, yadda yadda yadda. He's seen his fair share of epic battles and wars, and still here he is, ready for whatever life decides to throw his way.

Except for teenage drama which he was currently experiencing. He is far too old for that shit. As he neared Grill, he realized something. Elena and he can't be anything more than friends. Sure, with him she was carefree and sometimes even fun, and he liked that. But she never really understood him. She wanted him to be better when he couldn't. She hugs him every time she thinks he's hurting inside, but she doesn't realize that her friendly gestures make everything worse. Holding her in his arms and not really having her – that was the most hurtful thing he ever felt.

Liar. He literally died a little when Katherine wasn't in the tomb as he expected. Nothing will ever come close to that. Damon cursed not so silently, causing that blonde guy Matt to look at him with disapproval. Everything came to Katherine. Again.

So, back to Elena. Anyway, she liked to overdramatize and overanalyze everything. With his brother brooding over every little thing they presented a perfect match. She wasn't meant for him.

Damon wondered what his perfect match would be like.

"Drinking and brooding again, I see."

Katherine.

"Not brooding. Thinking. Lover boy should try it sometime, far more productive than sitting with a frown and a sad puppy face."

"You probably confused me and Elena. Stefan's thinking/brooding processes are none of my concern."

"Really?" He wore an impressed face. "Wicked witch isn't working her dark magic to break love birds apart?"

"What's it to you, Damon?"

"Listen, you little bitch," he lost his playful demeanor and looked her in the eyes. "Stefan is my brother, and Elena is my friend. And nobody is messing with what's mine. Try something, and I swear, I'll hunt you down and torture till you beg me to kill you." He sat closer to her, and she could smell the whiskey on his breath. "You'll beg me to hand you over to Klaus, because it will be that painful. So don't fucking mess with them. Clear?" Last part said in whisper, and it made everything even scarier. Wow, Katherine Pierce intimidated by Damon Salvatore. Who woulda thought.

"One request." Katherine never shows her fear. Playful and taunting as always.

"I don't think you're in any position to make requests, dear," Damon bit out.

"Play pool with me."

"Pool?" He really thought his ears were playing a trick. "You must have gone crazy in that tomb, sweetheart. I'm not gonna play pool with you."

"Come on, Damon. I'm not asking you to snap Elena's neck. Although," Katherine noticed solemn look on Damon's face and decided against yanking his chain. "Nevermind. Just show me how to play this stupid game."

Damon smiled despite himself. Memories of her in long skirt, holding a rugby ball and smiling at him flooded him.

"If this game is so stupid, why would you want to learn how to play?"

"Well," Katherine stood up and slowly started to walk backwards, smiling slyly, "I just want to. Everyone in this damn town seems to know the rules, and I reeeeaaally hate it when I'm the one not knowing how to play a game."

She walked up to a table with Damon silently following her. He eyed her warily, then he just sighed and took a cue.

"Okay, don't make me regret it."

As Damon turned away, explaining her rules, she smirked. Everything went according to her plan.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The previous chapter 3 really didn't fit in the pace I've been going with, so I replaced it with this one. From now on, I won't rush anything like before. Sorry about that mix up. Read and don't forget to review. Enjoy ;-)

Damon watched the goddess before him, lying on the silk sheets.

"I apologize for this cliché," he chuckled lightly, slowly getting in the bed with her. "I don't really remember putting these on my bed. Must be Stefan's bad joke."

Katherine chuckled with him while running her hands up and down his back.

"That certainly wouldn't be the first."

He only shook his head, laughing to himself.

"You can't even begin to imagine how right you are." His laugh quieted down to chuckles and finally died when he noticed Katherine wasn't laughing along. She just gazed at him, openly, studying him, looking for something.

"Yeah, I probably can't," she whispered softly, stroking his chest.

He already forgot what they were talking about. With her looking at him like that, he may have as well forgotten his name.

Tonight was the night of clichés, for sure.

Katherine trailed her hands lower to his abs, and Damon drew in a sharp breath. He was so focused on untying the laces of her night gown he didn't hear her say something.

"What was that?"

"I said," deep brown eyes focused on his blue ones, serious and so full of emotions, "say that you love me."

Damon slowly pulled a gown down her shoulders, leaning in to leave a little kiss on her collar bone, making Katherine moan softly. He kissed her earlobe and whispered the words.

"Look at me when you do," Kath pleaded with him. He frowned a little. There was so much desperation in her voice, when there shouldn't be any. Damon pulled back, looking her dead in the eyes.

"I love you." He whispered again, stroking her cheek with all the tenderness he could master.

Katherine smiled at that, a bit hesitating. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

"I love you, too," she whispered against his lips before catching them in a soft kiss.

Damon woke up, and if he could, he would be covered in a cold sweat. That bitch. She must have broken through his barriers and managed to manipulate his dream. Now he was really going to kill her.

He rushed to the furthest door at a vampire speed. Not bothering with knocking, he simply threw the door open and barged in, insults ready at the tip of his tongue.

However, any word he was going to say was stuck in his throat as he was picked up and thrown at the wall. Immediately, he was straddled by a fully vamped out Katherine Pierce in flesh. And nothing else. Damon's eyes went impossibly wide as he realized that.

That little fact almost cost him his life, because Katherine may have been naked, but not defenseless. A sharp point of a stake was right at his chest, and the female vampire was ready to plunge it deep in his chest.

"Kath, it's me!"

She stopped all the movement whatsoever, looking at him with suspicion. For that, he was really grateful.

"Damon?" She tilted her head a little, confused. Confusion was quickly replaced by anger.

"Just what the fuck were you thinking?" Katherine hissed at him, moving away the stake. "I could've killed you right here!"

"Yeah, I noticed. I thought you could tell it was me," Damon mumbled.

"Damon, there's a battle coming! I didn't have time between you barging in and me waking up to stand here and try to recognize who's the psycho that disturbed me!" She yelled out before huffing with annoyance. "And 'btw'," she mocked him from the previous day, "What are you doing here?"

"Um," he shifted a little, but Katherine didn't budge. "Look, you know it's me, now get off."

"Oh believe me, I am," she purred at him, smirking. He just rolled his eyes. "Fine, fun pooper."

As soon as she stood up, he had her in a dead grip against the wall.

"You know, if you wanted a little dominance, all you had to do was ask," Katherine sneered at him.

"Don't play dumb, bitch," he spat at her. "How did you get into my head? Is it a spell?"

"What? Damon, you finally snapped. I knew the day would come." She twisted out of his grip like it was nothing. "I can't get into your head; you're too strong for me. Stefan, on the other hand…" Katherine trailed off with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

He didn't react to the mention of Stefan as she had probably hoped. It still hurt. But he wasn't about to show his weak side.

"Do whatever you want with Steffi, just leave me out of it. And put something on. This slut look is getting old." He said in a disinterested voice. That left Katherine wondering. She was pretty sure it was an act, but it looked real. And the pain was real, too. It strangely hurt when there was no spark of jealousy in these ice blue eyes and boredom in his voice. She was at the receiving end this time, and she didn't like it, not one bit.

Katherine decided to stick to her plan. If it was Elena and not her, she would put something on like a good little girl she was. Katherine mentally scoffed and did just that.

"Happy now?" She twisted around, looking at him with an annoyed face.

"Well, pants woulda gone nice with my shirt, but that's at least something." He deadpanned.

Damon was looking for his favorite shirt all over the place. Katherine's room was the only place he didn't go to in his search, and turned out that was the place where he should've started.

She only shrugged in response. Being all Elena-like was good, but that was to be kept to a minimum. She wanted Damon to believe she has changed, not to become his own Elena clone. And she succeeded a little. His eyes showed he was pleasantly surprised when she did put clothes on without much debate. Score one for Miss Pierce.

"So what was that about a dream again?" She asked him as she went to get some scotch. Taking out two glasses, she looked over her shoulder with a silent question. Damon nodded after some hesitation, and she grinned to herself as she poured them a drink.

"I'm still pretty convinced it was you," he informed her after sipping his scotch.

"Well, what was there? Blood, guts, war, dead Elena?" She was rather intrigued by what he saw. It must have been pretty serious if he went to her room to demand answers.

Damon hesitated with the answer. But what the hell, she did it, so she knew what was in the dream. She was just playing him, seeing if he would go further. He absolutely would. Two can play a game.

"No Elena. Only you, me and silk sheets."

"God," Katherine grimaced slightly, "silk sheets, really?"

Damon chuckled in spite of himself.

"My thoughts exactly. You could have been more creative than that."

"Still wasn't me."

"Still don't believe you."

'Really don't care' was right at the tip of her tongue, but she held back. Damon was like a little puppy: he liked it when someone playfully shoved him, but being really put in his place made him tuck his tail between his legs and curl up. That was not what she had in store for him.

Instead, she asked another really interesting question.

"So you had a wet dream with me starring here. What's the big deal?"

She noticed how he briefly looked away for a second, looking almost guilty. And also wistful. That was getting more interesting by a second.

"Look, I participated in Damon Salvatore's dream, I think I deserve to at least know what I did in there."

She sounded sincerely curious, and that was what stopped Damon from saying anything. It really wasn't her. It was all his fucked up doing.

"We fucked and then you fucked Stefan right before my eyes and stabbed him in the end," he lied calmly.

"Hm," she mused, "no, that's not really my style. If I really wanted to mess with your head, it would have been something about your abandonment issues. Starring me, Elena, Stefan and your father. _That _would be messing you up." Step two: a bite after a lick. Damon likes it rough.

"Thanks for pointing it out now," sarcasm dripped from every word. "You made my night an awful lot better."

"I aim to please," she mockingly saluted with her glass. It was empty by now. Katherine sighed as she put it on the table before turning to face Damon. "Well, since you ruined my sleep, the least you could do is entertain me."

Damon looked at her with a bit of disbelief. Did Katherine manage to say a suggestive sentence without really 'suggesting' or heaving it up with an innuendo? He listened hard for a moment. Her heartbeat is not human. Nope, that's still Katherine.

She only smiled to herself as she watched him thinking something over. Yep. It's definitely working.

"Well town is off limits since you're Elena's doppelganger…"

"I believe it's the other way around," she butted in coldly.

"…so, all you can get is TV, Internet and Emily's diaries." Damon finished as if he wasn't interrupted.

"Diaries… I like that word." Katherine bit her lower lip and looked at him with laughing eyes. "How about Stefan's diaries and popcorn with TV on background?"

And in that exact moment, Damon realized that some part of him still loved Katherine and always would. She looked so… She looked her age – not actual one, but the age of her appearance, a good-naturedly mischievous and carefree eighteen-year-old girl, with that twinkle in her eyes and a smile. He had never seen that smile before, and he decided that he loved it.

"Deal," he smiled back at her.

When he turned away, Katherine lost that smile, but not to the wicked smirk as she planned. She wore a confused frown instead. Because not only she looked giddy, carefree and close to happy, but she _felt_ like that, too. And that was kind of unsettling. But at the same time, it actually felt nice.

"Are you coming or what?" Damon harshly whispered as he was making his impersonation of a ninja, moving against a wall to the Stefan's room. He really wouldn't stand a chance in a Chinese castle with those skills. He looked inside and motioned for her to come closer.

She smiled again to herself as they went into the room to get those diaries.


End file.
